The Punishment of the Falsifiers

The grotesque torments of those who committed fraud through alchemy, impersonation, counterfeiting, and perjury.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

The Alchemists' Disease

The Sick Souls The Scabs Dante sees souls covered with scabs, scratching themselves furiously. Two sit back to back, scraping off the crust. They are alchemists who falsified metals. Capocchio and Griffolino Capocchio, an alchemist from Siena, speaks. He was burned for his art. Griffolino d'Arezzo, who pretended to fly, was also burned. Their punishment is disease.

Gianni Schicchi and Myrrha

The Mad Runners The Biting Spirits Two naked, pale souls run through the bolgia, biting others like boars. One is Gianni Schicchi, who impersonated Buoso Donati to make a will. The other is Myrrha, who committed incest with her father. The Contrapasso Their madness reflects their fraudulent identities. They are driven to bite, just as they 'bit' others through deception.

Master Adam and the Counterfeit Coin

The Dropsical Man The Distorted Body Master Adam, a counterfeiter, lies with a swollen belly and distorted limbs. He suffers from dropsy and thirst, longing for a drop of water. The Memory of Romena He recalls the streams of Casentino, which only increase his torment. He was burned for coining florins with three carats of alloy.

Sinon of Troy and the Quarrel

The Bitter Argument The Perjurer Sinon of Troy, who lied about the Trojan Horse, lies nearby with a fever. He and Master Adam trade insults, each accusing the other of worse crimes. Virgil's Rebuke Dante is fascinated by their quarrel, but Virgil scolds him for listening to such base disputes. Dante feels shame and learns to avoid such distractions.

The Variety of Falsifiers

The Four Types The Categories The tenth bolgia punishes four kinds of falsifiers: alchemists (falsifiers of metals), impersonators (falsifiers of persons), counterfeiters (falsifiers of money), and perjurers (falsifiers of words). The Unity of Fraud All these sins involve a corruption of truth, whether in matter, identity, currency, or speech. Their punishments reflect the specific nature of their fraud.

In the tenth bolgia of Malebolge, among the falsifiers

After the alchemists, in the tenth bolgia

After the runners, in the tenth bolgia

After Master Adam, in the tenth bolgia

Throughout the tenth bolgia